Your Questions about the Nobel Prize in Literature

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Question: Dear sir,
What is Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio's one best work?
Thank you

Answer: It is difficult to choose one single book among the more than forty he has published, but I am very fond of "Révolutions" and believe that book to be the best introduction to his work.

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Question: I will like to know more about Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. Also, more about his personal life and interest.

Answer: You may start by reading the press release from the Swedish Academy concerning the laureate.

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Question: Dear Madams and Sirs,
Are Nobel Prizes in literature based on the assessment of the writings in its original language, translations, or both? If assessed in the original language, how does one remove nationalistic interests, if any, from the nomination process? Unlike physics, chemistry, etc, where the symbolism/equations/conventions are clearly agreed upon globally, I would imagine that language and its interpretation would pose an additional challenge.
Thank you for the opportunity to ask this question.
Victor D.
San Diego

Answer: Whenever possible, the Nobel committee and the Academy will read the works of the candidates in the original language. Obviously, we often have to rely on translations, but in those cases, we make an effort to read several versions of the same book, e.g. one French and one German translation. It is true that literature, unlike science, is rooted in a cultural code with language as its most important expression, but a great work of literature should have the power to reveal the universal meaning of local symbols and conventions.

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Question: Dear Professor Engdahl,
As a (former) literature teacher I'm concerned with the future of reading. For many years I've been 'using' (world) literature prizes and their mediatic context as a bait to hook young adult readers. I'm very interested in your Committee's evaluation parameters for a writer's work. How much weight do you give to the author's critical view on political, social, ecological, cultural, ... problems? Do you try to measure the impact of his texts on 'saving the world'? Do you make a balance between content and poetics, style, i.c. language material?
Thank you!
Kind regards
Janien Benaets

Answer: We are not so preoccupied by the thought of "saving the world", that's rather the concern of our colleagues in the Peace Committee. The Academy is more interested in literary form.

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Question: Dear Professor Engdahl:
What are the criteria or standards that the board members of the Swedish Academy use to evaluate a writer's works as - in the words of Alfred Nobel - having been of very great benefit to humanity?

Answer: Alfred Nobel wrote in his will that the literary Nobel Prize should be an award for the most outstanding work "in the direction of an ideal". Unfortunately, he didn't tell us what ideal, so we have to decide for ourselves what is good and what is bad literature. We do that according to normal literary standards, such as force, complexity, emotional impact, originality etc. etc.

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Question: When considering an individual for the Nobel Prize in Literature, which most correctly defines the candidates eligibility, a particular work that they have written, or is taken into consideration the sum of their life's work? In other words, is there a certain number of key characteristics that are looked for in the work, its affect on society, its influence on the literary realm, and life story of the author and how is that incorporated with choosing the winner?

Answer: It has been an unwritten rule from the very beginning to consider the sum of a life's work rather than a single book. We don't trouble ourselves much with literature's effect on society, which is difficult to assess. On the other hand, the influence a certain author has had in the literary realm is certainly a relevant factor. It has been the policy of the Swedish Academy since the 1940's to look for "the great precursors". Our goal is to award writers that will still be read a hundred years from now.

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Question: Dear Professor Engdahl, In your observation, does the nominating process expose the choice of each year's Literature Laureate to political concerns unrelated to the matter of literary merit, for example nationality of the laureate or his ideology? Thank you very much.

Answer: No, we avoid political considerations when judging the merits of the candidates. Their national origin is of no importance to us.

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Question: I believe I read that a writer is only eligible for the Nobel Prize if they have been on the "short list" three times or more. Is that correct, and when did the Academy implement this rule? Thank you.

Answer: Not quite. According to the informal rule that the Academy has adopted in recent years, an author has to be on the short list at least twice before being eligible.

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Question: When Nobel established the Nobel Prizes, he clearly indicated that the awards should be given to people who served and benefited the society in some ways. How literature can be beneficial to the society?

Answer: Nobel's will is rather laconic and doesn't develop this point. Perhaps he felt that literature, by offering an insight into foreign modes of thought and emotion, would somehow curb national prejudice.

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Question: Does the Swedish Academy admit the existence of political reasons to elect the Nobel Prize in Literature?

Answer: No.

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Question: Dear Professor Horace Engdahl,
Are all members thoroughly familiar with the candidates' works before making their decision and is decisions of the Academy have any political intention or motivation for any country?

Answer: All members of the Swedish Academy are expected to read the entire work of the main candidates. There are no political motivations involved.

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Question: Would you define introspective literature as essential in a Nobel Prize winner?

Answer: An interesting question! Certainly, there has been a predominance of the introspective attitude in highly regarded literature in the West since the days of Romanticism. But you will find a lot of exceptions in the list of Nobel laureates: Kipling,
Deledda, Laxness, Steinbeck, García Márquez, Grass, Lessing, to name only a few.

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Question: I was just wondering how you felt about the state of American or North American literature? Are there conditions in Europe and elsewhere that are cultivating talented young writers, which do not exist or perhaps exist in a diminished capacity in the United States?

Answer: Human nature is uniform. There is no lack of talent in American literature, and certainly a number of great writers. On the other hand, the USA is not the centre of the literary world in the same way as it is the centre of finance or world politics or armament. Why does literature thrive in one part of the world rather than in another? How is it possible that Europe still can be ahead of other regions in terms of literary creativity? I don't see this as very strange. Literature is highly regarded in our part of the world. Being an important writer generally ranks above having success in economic or political activity. Furthermore, Europe has the advantage of a great variety of languages and longstanding national traditions of learning, in which translation has been a central element. This has counteracted the tendency to self-sufficient notions and parochial taste that is inherent in all societies.

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Interview with Professor Horace Engdahl after the announcement of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature

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